In the past it has been difficult if not impossible to have accurate pressure transducers. This difficulty has been traced to zero shift of the transducer as a function of temperature and zero shift as a function of time.
Past attempts to solve the thermal problems have included the use of thermally dependent components in the pressure measuring circuitry to compensate for the thermal vagaries of both the electronic and mechanical components of the transducer. However, such attempts have resulted in compensation which is at best approximate. Also, in the past the time varying zero shift problems have been attempted to be solved by extremely long "burn-in" times coupled with periodic zero checks and appropriate readjustments. It should be noted that past thermal compensation attempts would only give approximate compensation for a steady-state thermal situation, and at best poor or useless results in a transient thermal situation. This is because the thermal time constants of the mechanical assembly of the transducer are commonly much longer than those of the electrical components of the transducer. This temperature compensation problem is made even worse since the spatial distribution of the components of the transducer give rise to severe thermal gradients in a time-varying temperature situation.
These problems associated with zero shifts related to time and temperature changes have been overcome with the present pressure transducer system invention which greatly reduces or eliminates zero shifts which are functions of temperature and time. Moreover, the invention reduces or eliminates thermal gradients associated with spatial distribution of the transducer system components, allowing accurate and precise measurements in a time-varying thermal environment.